BACKGROUND: FROM THE GLOBE AND MAIL STORY: (Reporter Liam Newbigging): "Mr. Lockyer (Roy Sobotiak's lawyer with Innocence Canada, a non-profit organization that works to exonerate people with wrongful convictions) , said in the 488 pages of arguments between Mr. Virani – who was advised by a judge – and the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service that there were three main issues that informed the Justice Minister’s decision. The original trial heard Mr. Sobotiak tell an undercover police officer that he tortured, sexually assaulted, killed and dismembered Ms. Kaminsky, then disposed of her body in the garbage. Tactics where undercover officers impersonate criminals and befriend suspects in order to elicit confessions, known as Mr. Big operations, have since come under public and legal scrutiny. A 2014 Supreme Court decision found these confessions unreliable in some cases. Mr. Lockyer said another issue with the original trial were the Crown’s failure to disclose significant evidence. Recent forensic examinations that failed to tie Mr. Sobotiak to the murder."
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STORY: "Roy Sobotiak, Canada's longest-serving wrongfully convicted prisoner, granted bail after 35 years for Edmonton woman's murder," by Reporter Johnny Wakefield, published by The Edmonton Journal, on May 23, 2025. (Jonny Wakefield is the Edmonton Journal/Edmonton Sun's justice reporter, covering courts, crime, policing and other issues.{
SUB-HEADING: "Sobotiak, 61, was released from custody for the first time since his 1989 arrest for the murder of Susan Kaminsky."
PHOTO CAPTION: "On Friday, Sobotiak, 61, was granted release from custody for the first time since his 1989 arrest for the murder of Susan Kaminsky. Earlier this year, then-federal Justice Minister Arif Virani tossed Sobotiak's conviction and ordered a new trial, saying a review of the case suggested Sobotiak was wrongfully convicted. "
GIST: "The Roy Sobotiak who walked into an Edmonton courtroom this week barely resembled the man in the photo that has accompanied news articles about his case for 35 years.
The young man in the photo had dark brown hair, brown eyes, the barest trace of stubble. The man in court was grey — his long hair falling from the bare crown of his head to his neck. He wore a handlebar moustache, and a Cross on a necklace over a half-unzipped prisoner’s jumpsuit. He furrowed his brow and smiled faintly as he sat in t
On Friday, Sobotiak, 61, was granted release from custody for the first time since his 1989 arrest for the murder of Susan Kaminsky. Earlier this year, then-federal Justice Minister Arif Virani tossed Sobotiak’s conviction and ordered a new trial, saying a review of the case suggested Sobotiak was wrongfully convicted.
Sobotiak’s lawyers say he is the longest-serving wrongfully convicted prisoner in Canadian history.
“When he went in, Mr. Sobotiak said to me a couple days ago, cellphones only fit in briefcases,” defence lawyer James Lockyer told Court of King’s Bench Justice Eric Macklin. “One of the lawyers here was four years old when he went into custody.”
Lockyer said the Alberta Crown — which is challenging Virani’s decision overturning the conviction — has yet to decide whether it will retry Sobotiak. In the interim, Sobotiak plans to live in a group home in Fort McMurray."
The entire story can be read at:
https://edmontonjournal.com/news/crime/roy-sobotiak-convicted-35-years-bail-edmonton-woman-murder
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INNOCENCE CANADA PRESS RELEASE: "Friday, May 23, 2025: Roy Sobotiak Released on Bail after 36 years in Prison: "Today, Roy Sobotiak appeared in the Court of King’s Bench in Edmonton and was ordered released on bail by Justice Eric Macklin after having spent almost 36 years in prison for a murder he has always insisted he did not commit. Arrested on September 27, 1989 for the 1987 murder of 34-year-old Susan Kaminsky. Mr. Sobotiak, then 26, has never had a moment of freedom since. He acknowledged through his counsel today that it would not be easy to adjust to a very different world from what he knew in 1989. “I was 26 when I went in. I am 61 now. Everything will be different.” After his conviction in 1991 for second degree murder and after losing all his appeals, Mr. Sobotiak tirelessly championed his own cause. He wrote a 1000-page hand-written request to the Parole Board of Canada for a pardon. In 2021, he was told to write to the Minister of Justice. He did and the Department of Justice officials were sufficiently troubled by his case that they asked Innocence Canada to assist him. We did, and on February 25, 2025, then Minister of Justice Arif Virani quashed the second-degree murder conviction and directed a new trial. Mr. Sobotiak has spent more years in prison than any other victim of a wrongful conviction in Canadian history, a dubious honour. At Court today, after his release was ordered, Innocence Canada lawyers spoke to the media. James Lockyer said, “of all the cases we have worked on, this is by far the longest a wrongly convicted person has been in prison. We are grateful to Justice Macklin that he ordered his release today.” Katie Clackson said, “there is an important lesson to be learned in this tragedy from Mr. Sobotiak’s case. A justice system can go wrong and when it does, it can do irreparable harm.” Joanne McLean said, “Innocence Canada has been helping wrongly convicted individuals for 33 years now. We are pleased to have helped Mr. Sobotiak in his quest to prove his innocence, and we will continue to do so.”
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PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue/resource. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog.
SEE BREAKDOWN OF SOME OF THE ON-GOING INTERNATIONAL CASES (OUTSIDE OF THE CONTINENTAL USA) THAT I AM FOLLOWING ON THIS BLOG, AT THE LINK BELOW: HL:
https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/120008354894645705/4704913685758792985
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FINAL WORD: (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases): "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."
Lawyer Radha Natarajan:
Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;
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FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions. They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they've exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true!
Christina Swarns: Executive Director: The Innocence Project;
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SEE BREAKDOWN OF SOME OF THE ON-GOING INTERNATIONAL CASES (OUTSIDE OF THE CONTINENTAL USA) THAT I AM FOLLOWING ON THIS BLOG, AT THE LINK BELOW: HL:
https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/120008354894645705/4704913685758792985
———————————————————————————————
FINAL WORD: (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases): "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."
Lawyer Radha Natarajan:
Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;
—————————————————————————————————
FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions. They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they've exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true!
Christina Swarns: Executive Director: The Innocence Project;
